Major Flood Relief Schemes

Historically, flood risk management focused on arterial drainage for the benefit of agricultural improvement. Arising from increasing flood risk, the Arterial Drainage Act, 1945, was amended in 1995 to permit the Office of Public Works (OPW) to implement localised flood relief schemes to provide flood protection for cities, towns and villages.

Some schemes have been carried out by the Local Authorities under their own powers using the Planning and Development legislative code. The OPW either works in association with the relevant Local Authorities or funds Local Authorities directly to undertake flood relief works.

FRM "Small Projects"

Information on Local Authority led FRMP "Small Projects" (any project costing up to €1M or protecting 10 or more properties)

Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme

The Minor Flood Mitigation Works & Coastal Protection Scheme (the “Minor Works Scheme”) was introduced by the Office of Public Works in 2009. The purpose of the scheme is to provide funding to Local Authorities to undertake minor flood mitigation works or studies to address localised flooding and coastal protection problems within their administrative areas. The scheme generally applies where a solution can be readily identified and achieved in a short time frame.

Under the scheme, applications are considered for projects that are estimated to cost not more than €750,000 in each instance. Funding of up to 90% of the cost is available from the OPW for approved projects. The commencement and progression of any works for which funding is approved is a matter for each Local Authority concerned.

Maintenance carried out under Arterial Drainage Act, 1945

The OPW has statutory responsibility for and carries out a programme of Arterial Drainage Maintenance. These maintenance works relate to arterial drainage schemes completed by the OPW under the Arterial Drainage Acts 1945, with the primary purpose to improve the drainage of agricultural lands. Local Authorities are responsible for the maintenance of Drainage Districts, which were completed up to 1943.

The OPW’s annual Arterial Drainage Maintenance Works Programme protects 260,000 hectares (650,000 acres) of agricultural lands and comprises 11,500km (7,150 miles) of river channel and approximately 800km (500 miles) of embankments.

2018 Flood Risk Management Plans Overview

The following table sets out the communities in this county that are covered by the Flood Risk Management Plans launched in May 2018 and provides an indication of the proposed flood relief schemes contained in the Plans for these communities. It should be noted that this table provides the position from May 2018 and the status of some schemes may have changed since then. Any changes will be reflected elsewhere in the county summary. In some instances, a technically viable flood relief scheme has been identified, however, a more detailed assessment of the costs and benefits will be completed to determine if the proposed Scheme is feasible. For other communities, there is a relatively low level of flood risk from rivers and/or the sea, and no structural flood relief measures are therefore proposed at this time. The current level of risk will be reviewed, along with all areas, on a regular basis into the future. In addition to the implementation of proposed flood relief schemes, funding will continue to be available for localised projects under the Minor Works Scheme. The Plans also set out those non-structural measures in place or proposed, for example Flood Forecasting, which benefit all at risk communities and properties. The Interdepartmental Flood Policy Co-ordination Group will continue its work now greatly informed by the wealth of knowledge in the Plans to bring forward further feasible proposals for Government’s consideration to support and assist households and communities through non-structural flood risk management and mitigation measures.